Tree of 40 Fruit by Sam Van Aken is an Ambitious God-Like Project

The Tree of 40 Fruit is not some kind of philosophical tale, but an actual tree that is meant to bear forty different kinds of fruit in the near future. The result would be a kaleidoscopic hybridized plant due to all of the different blooms and fruit that would hang off of its branches.

Conceived by artist Sam Van Aken, the Tree of 40 Fruit is being created by grafting 40 different stone fruit branches onto a single tree. Although his vision is quite singular, similar grafting techniques have been explored in the past. Spread across the United States, his fledgling project relies both on local fruits as well as varieties that aren't commercially available. Having grown up on a farm, Van Aken has the knowledge to make the Tree of 40 Fruit a reality.